need a mild load for .357

[tony212]

My wife just recently started going to the range with me to shoot revolvers.  My son let her borrow an older 4" Rossi in .357 and I bought her a couple boxes of UMC 130 grian .38 specials.  She is really doing well and is really catching on.  Here is my need.  I don't like to keep using .38s in the .357.  It hard to get the carbon ring out of the cylinders after.   I'm looking for a nice mild .357 load that will be comparable to the 130 .38s.  This is what I was thinking.  Maybe 4 or 4.5 grains of 700X with a 158 grain TNT cast swc.  The IMR handbook calls for 5.5 grains of 700X with 158 lswc. Do you guys think this will be too light of a load?  Is there such thing as too light a load when you're shooting cast bullets? Let me know what you think and if you have any light loads I might try.
Thanks;
Tony212

[jd45]

How about Elmer Keith's +p38spl load of 5.6grs of Unique.jd45.

[John Traveler]

Tony,

In answer to your question,  YES there is such a thing as a  "too light" magnum load.

I've seen first hand a new Colt Python cylinder split open by what the owner swore was not a double-charge, but 2.5 grains Bullseye behind a 148 grain wadcutter.  The small charge with the big airspace was the suspected culprit.  This shooter was a PPC competition veteran who had fired many hundreds of thousands of .38 wadcutter rounds.

Researchers have long suspected a pistol load equivalent of the Secondary Explosion Effect (SEE) in highpower rifles.  Airspace and unpredictable burning rates are factors.  

You notice that the ball powder manufacturer's and loading manuals warn against using loads less than 90% of full-power?

Faster powders are probably safe if you stay at or above .38 Special velocities.

I will not use ultra-light loads in the .357 case.

John

[larry357]

My favorite .357 all around plinker load is 6.0gr. Unique,#550 CCI pr. under a 158gr. SWC. These are very accurate in my 6 1/2" Blackhawk though I havent tried any out past 35 yards yet. Should have low enough recoil in your gun too. I have no idea how these compare to your UMC factory rounds.

[Larry Gibson]

tony212

4.5 gr of Bullseye with any 150-158 gr LSWC is what you are looking for.  I use this load for my wife (me too!) with her 2 1/2" M19.  It equals .38 spec velocity in her her M19 of 825 fps and runs 952 fps out of my Ruger Security Six 6 1/2".   Very accurate load in all .357s I've shot it in.

Larry Gibson

[Bullseye]

Go to the light end of the load range with IMR 4227 and a 158 gr bullet or the light end of the load range with 2400 and a 180 gr bullet.  These are very mild fun to shoot loads in my GP100 with a 4" barrel.  The 2400 is more accurate in my gun.

[Duffy]

Tony,
Your on the right track with the 700X because it burns clean and is very easy to light. I have gone down to 2 grains in a unsized case with no crimp for lapping bullets and had no problems besides a stuck bullet once in a while. I would use a full wadcutter though to take up the extra room in the case and try them first. I have loaded up some 148 Lee WC in 38 with 2.7g of WW Super Target and went to 3.7 in the 357 but the 38's still shot better. Didn't really mess around much to see if I could get them even or not.

[Mikey]

tony212:  my old Lyman manual shows that for the 200 gn bullet, 3 - 3.5 of Bullseye gives you 720-782'/sec; 4 - 5.5 of Unique gives you 719 - 942'/sec; 9.5 - 11 of 2400 gives you 877 - 1018'/sec; 4.2 - 5.2 of SR 7625 gives you 763 - 894'/sec; and 9.5 - 12.2 of 4227 gives you 792 - 1020, with the latter being an accuracy load.  HTH.  Mikey.

[RaySendero]

My ".357 light load" is a 125 gr. Rainier flat point copper plated bullet over 7.0 grains of Unique powder with CCI 500 SP primers.

[Jerry Lester]

My favorite mild 357 load is with 125g Remington bulk bullets, CCI 550 primers, and 7.5g of Unique.

This load has been very accurate in my Blackhawk, both my Marlins, and also quite a few other assorted guns belonging to friends.

[dave375hh]

Tony,
I've used 3.0gr. of 700X w/148gr DEWC for years with no problems in my .357. I shoot our local PPC matches with this load as well as bullseye.
I've probably fired 3500 to 4000 of these in a S&W mod 28 with great accuracy and zero problems(all loads are in .357mag cases).
   The SEE has never been reproduced in any lab to date. The consenses is that the explosions were caused by the skirt of a hollow based wadcutter breaking off and lodging in the barrels forcing cone on the shot preceding the blow-up. They were caused by bore obstructions not a "to light" powder charge. :money:

[tony212]

Thanks for all the info.   I just ordered some .357 cases and some TNT 158 swc.  Ill try some of these loads out as soon as everything gets here. thanks again

[tony212]

Well, just got back from the range. I loaded up some 158 cast SWCs over 4 grains of 700X. COL of 1.58".   I shot a dozen through the chronograph and was getting between 733 and 749 fps.  They were very mild, really not any different then the .38 specials.  Primers looked good and no problems.  I'm not sure about the accuracy I find it hard to concentrate on the target when I'm shooting through the chronograph, always afraid I'm going to shoot it.  Anyway, they seemed to work pretty well.  Next I might try some of the bullseye loads . Thanks again guys.
Tony212